Did Chevy Super Bowl Ad Hurt Ford’s Feelings? (Video)

When does competitive banter go too far? In the pickup-truck business, the threshold for taking offense appears to be low.

Chevrolet said it received a letter yesterday from longtime rival Ford Motor Co. asking that it not show its Super Bowl commercial for the Chevy Silverado pickup. The spot, which depicts the end of the world, touts the Silverado as the longest-lasting, most-dependable full-size pickup truck on the road. In making its point, the General Motors Co. unit has a laugh at Ford’s expense.

In “2012,” which Chevy calls a “good-humored ad,” a Silverado drives through an extreme version of the destruction “predicted to occur this year by the Mayan calendar.” The commercial is at first grim, but bits of humor show though with frogs falling from the sky and Barry Manilow playing in the background. The ad’s punchline is a dig at Ford, which makes the F-150 pickup.

In an earlier statement Ewanick said the ad is “a fun way” of putting the company’s claims about the Silverado in the context of the apocalypse. The company said it won’t pull the commercial, which is set to run during the first quarter of today’s game.

“We can wait until the world ends, and if we need to, we will apologize,” Ewanick added.

In a statement, Ford said, “We do not agree with some of GM’s claims in their ad, particularly around durability. What’s important is that Ford is proud to be the best-selling truck in America for 35 years, the best-selling vehicle for 30 years and the only brand with more trucks on the road with more than 250,000 miles – demonstrating just how durable our trucks are in the real world.”

Comments (5 of 14)

LOVED Meeting you at the GM Southeast Grassroots Awards dnenir. Hope to see you again soon! it was a blast... plus, next time you are going salsa dancing... no excuses!

10:25 pm February 13, 2012

reckoner wrote :

I reckon lots of folks identify with Dave, who was caught up in the rapture, and prefer not to make it to the great Tribulation like the others did. The frogs really stamped this commercial for what it is - a misguided attempt at levity based on Revelation 16:13-14. Who knows, maybe more believers buy Fords.

3:47 pm February 9, 2012

Angela Garrison wrote :

When a company decides to spend millions and millions of dollars to produce and air a commercial like this I tend to think you better “go big or go home”. While I’m not personally offended in the least by the Chevy ad it brings to mind an advertising ideology of Thomas Levitt. Levitt sees advertising as commercial poetry, meaning you should not focus on the functionality of things depicted instead the deep and complex emotion portrayed. These are “creative embellishments that cannot be captured by literal descriptions alone” (Johannesen et al., 2008).

Advertisements are just that, ads. Ads, that tell a story, a story that will hopefully resonate with the audience enough they will make a conscious decision to take action and spend their money with that brand. Levitt goes on to state something that would beneficial to fall on the right ears at Ford this week, “advertisements are the symbols of human aspirations. They are not the real thing, nor are they intended to be, nor are they accepted as such by the public” (Johannesen et al., 2008).

No one really believes a Ford truck would not survive the apocalypse, while a Chevy Silverado would rise from the ashes carrying the hopes and dreams of those who made that purchase with them. No one thinks that. Promise. So, Ford, use this as motivation, strike back, that’s what keeps all of this fun and interesting in the first place.

Got to love this commercial !!! I bought a new ford ranger and had nothing but trouble with sense I drove it off the lot. The ford dealership and ford corporation blames each other for the problems but neither one of them would help me, kinda shows the junk that ford builds and sales and then don't stand behind. Never again will I buy another ford as long as I live, hell I will buy Toyota truck before I will ever think about a junk ford. Ford is like that cheap toilet paper it falls apart before you wipe your a$$!!!

9:06 am February 8, 2012

Jon Ch wrote :

The Chevy Super Bowl Commercial: is being misinterpreted. The disaster is the GM Plant and the guy at the end shaking his head is embarrassed, because Dave drove a Ford and wasn’t involved with the disaster!!